Classes and workshops are ongoing throughout the day.
Tickets include entrance to any classes, but space is limited.

2019 schedule below. 2020 classes are TBD but will be posted ASAP.

 Tasting Room

  • 11:00AM - 11:30AM: Kid's Class! with Krissee D'Aguiar of River-Sea Chocolate -  A session about chocolate and the chocolate making process just for little ones! This will be a hand's-on and interactive experience for kids of all ages.
  • 12PM - 12:45PM: The Cocoa Beans that Started the Craft Revolution, Chocolate Tasting with Megan Giller: Join award-winning food writer Megan Giller, the author of Bean-to-Bar Chocolate: America's Craft Chocolate Revolution, for a guided tasting of single-origin Madagascar bars as well as Madagascar beans. Known for their bright, fruity flavor, these beans inspired a generation of chocolate makers to create a new style of bar. We'll be tasting everything from 100 percent bars to bars with Pop Rocks, and you'll learn how to taste according to the protocol of the International Chocolate Awards (Megan is a judge) as well as hear behind-the-scenes stories that often are as hilarious as they are poignant. Book signing to follow
  • 1PM - 1:45PM: Connoisseur Games: Bean to Bon Bon & Everything In Between with Mark Christian of C-spot : Fast-track your chocolate expertise — get a read on any bar’s story, from deciphering the wrapper to breaking the flavor code. We’ll blast thru the manifold iterations of the same cacáo bean starting with the raw material, then unsweetened chocolate “liquor”, onto its dark chocolate & milk chocolate renderings.
  • 2PM - 2:45PM: Deconstructing Taste from Bean to Bar: During the chocolate making process, flavors of cacao - the raw material that becomes chocolate - are modified and shifted according to the experience, taste, and objectives of the chocolate maker. The Fine Cacao & Chocolate Institute and Harper Macaw Chocolate come together to guide attendees through the flavor changes during the chocolate making process in a tasting through several important critical control points from the cacao bean to the chocolate bar.
  • 3PM - 3:45PM: Chocolate Party! with Estelle Tracy of 37chocolates.com Forget about eating chocolate alone at your desk, chocolate wants to party! In this one-hour class — OK, party — you’ll learn why the future of chocolate is social and how to throw your own chocolate fiesta. Feeling introverted? Estelle will share resources to connect with like-minded chocophiles online, right in your PJs. And yes, you’ll party along with chocolate bars made by a new wave of chocolate-makers.
  • 4PM - 4:45PM: Straight from the Farm with Sacha Gold Visit Sacha Gold Farms located in Joya de los Sachas, Ecuador deep in the Amazon Basin and learn about a growing women managed Ecuadorian company dedicated to producing great tasting Trinitario Fino de Aroma cacao under the name Sacha Gold®.   Our cacao is grown on a farm that is environmentally responsible, economically sustainable, traceable, and focused on the community. Our products will be available to taste after the class.

Auditorium

  • 11AM - 12PM: Goodwill Chocolate Panel Discussion  -  Join John Forrer, Director of the Institute for Corporate Responsibility, Research Professor at the School of Business and Associate Faculty at the School of Public Policy and Public Administration at George Washington University for a round table panel discussion on the GoodWill Chocolate project and sustainable cocoa supply chains.
  • 12PM - 12:45PM: Bean to Bar: Film Screening - Bean to Bar film focuses on the artisan chocolate makers renaissance in the United States.  Offering exotic tastes, textures and variety unavailable in our industrialized food industry, these artisan chocolate makers are celebrated and praised by food critics and chocolate lovers alike.Their passion for excellence through quality over quantity and a working relationship with the farmers, has led to a modern day revival of chocolate's mystery and allure.
  • 1PM - 1:45PM: What Makes A Chocolate Bar Extraordinary: Join Galo Pazmino, president and co-founder of SamiChakra LLC, on a holistic journey about the three elements that makes an extraordinary chocolate, and enjoy a Pacari chocolate treat at the end of the session!
  • 2PM - 2:45PM: Bean to Bar Film -  Bean to Bar film focuses on the artisan chocolate makers renaissance in the United States.  Offering exotic tastes, textures and variety unavailable in our industrialized food industry, these artisan chocolate makers are celebrated and praised by food critics and chocolate lovers alike.Their passion for excellence through quality over quantity and a working relationship with the farmers, has led to a modern day revival of chocolate's mystery and allure.
  • 3:PM - 3:45PM: Chuao, Women, & Cacao Farmers: 400 years of History in Venezuela: One of the most emblematic cacao beans in the world come from Chuao in Venezuela. Additionally, people from Chuao have more than high quality and rare cacaos, they have an amazing history. Cacao beans were the first product exported from Venezuela and one of the first towns to export cacao was Chuao. The history of cacao in Chuao includes incredible pirate stories and community of women farmers who sing a special song everyday. More recently, Chuao's story includes how this small town obtained an appellation of origin and what characteristics make up the the special flavors and aromas of Cacao de Chuao.
  • 4PM - 4:45PM: Bean to Bar Film -  Bean to Bar film focuses on the artisan chocolate makers renaissance in the United States.  Offering exotic tastes, textures and variety unavailable in our industrialized food industry, these artisan chocolate makers are celebrated and praised by food critics and chocolate lovers alike.Their passion for excellence through quality over quantity and a working relationship with the farmers, has led to a modern day revival of chocolate's mystery and allure.